Did you know that frogs were involved in the creation of the battery?
It all started with a frog. And a scientist. And a wonderful coincidence.
Luigi Galvani, an Italian scientist of the 1700s discovered that electricity applied to the nerves of frog legs caused the large muscles to twitch. Galvani then named the perpetrator of this effect animal electricity- a fractured allusion to the “life force” that was thought to be the essence of life on earth.
Its discovery began as Galvani was working to understand static electricity through the rubbing of frog skins
together. As he slowly skinned the frog with his steel scalpel, it touched the brass hook he was using to hold the frog’s leg in and picked up a charge which caused the frog’s leg to twitch, hence presenting an indication of the presence of electricity.
Further experiments by Italian physicist Volta showed that the frog’s leg was merely an indicator of the presence of electricity and that the electricity that caused the twitch was actually sparked by the dissimilarity of the two metals.
Nevertheless, without frog protagonist in this wonderful story of accidental discovery, scientists such as Gassner (1887) and Sir Thomas Edison (1903) and Urry (1950) would not have been able to arrive at their brilliant discoveries. The ubiquitious battery of the modern world would not have been invented and we would not even be able to dream of having mobile phones or cameras.
Think about it!
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http://www.batteryfacts.co.uk/BatteryHistory/Galvani.html
